Pan Am Flight 914

A Douglas DC-4
A Douglas DC-4, similar to what was used during the hoax.

Pan Am Flight 914 is a hoax that a Douglas DC-4 disappeared after a takeoff in 1955 and only landed again three decades later.

The hoax alleges that a Pan Am Douglas DC-4 with 57 passengers crew members disappeared without a trace on a flight from New York City to Miami on July 2, 1955. After 30 years (37 in some sources), the plane was sighted again near Caracas, and then after landing at the airport there, the plane immediately took off again and finally landed at its original destination in Miami. In Internet forums, there was speculation, among other things, as to whether it had been a journey through time through a wormhole.

The hoax originates from a 1985 article in the Weekly World News, a tabloid known for false stories. The article was re-published in 1993 and 1999. The image of the plane is a stock photo of a Trans World Airlines DC-4. There are no contemporary sources of the incident in the press or the Civil Aeronautics Board accident reports.[1]

There is no indication in any of the full production lists for the DC-4 that such an event took place on any of the 1,244 planes of this type built, including the Pan Am.[2][3][4]

This hoax was widely popularized by YouTube channels like 'Bright Side', garnishing 23 million views, as of December 3rd 2024[5]

References

  1. ^ Evon, Dan (1 July 2019). "Did a Plane Disappear and Land 37 Years Later?". Snopes. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ Eastwood, Tony (2007). Piston Engine Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop, West Drayton. pp. 213–271.
  3. ^ "Accident list: Douglas DC-4, Aviation Safety Network". Archived from the original on May 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Aviation Safety Network: Pan American World Airways (Pan Am)".
  5. ^ BRIGHT SIDE (2019-06-27). A Plane Disappeared And Landed 37 Years Later. Retrieved 2024-12-03 – via YouTube.